Her selfless work is beyond religion, nationality
Pope Francis proclaiming Mother Teresa, a ‘saint' on Sunday after the canonisation ceremony at Vatican, is probably the most fitting tribute to the person who served the underprivileged and the poorest of the poor. A proud Bharat Ratna and a Nobel laureate for all Indians, Agnes Gonxe Bojaxhiu, as she was originally known, deserves what she has achieved. Her selfless work to humanity must be emulated by others beyond her disciples and mainly by the people those who are offering social services to the ordinary people in this country.
This day, Indians must take a vow to spread her contributions beyond all barriers of religion, caste, creed, sex and territoriality. In a conflict-ridden society like ours, her fight for removing poverty and loved the unloved ones, must be a guiding force for a healing touch so as to see everyone living peacefully at a time when terror and violence are ruling our lives.
Her service towards the dying and the destitute in Kolkata since 1950 through her Missionaries of Charity made her a global icon and citizen much before her death on September 5, 1997. She worked on AJC Bose Road throughout her life and gradually expanded her service to Sealdah, Tiljala and the other adjacent areas. Her primary focus was to uplift the people on the streets and slums those who are mostly orphans, the sick, the leprosy patients and the dying with unbound love and care.
A canonisation mass attended by 1,00,000 pilgrims, including 13 heads of state, has rightly reflected the love for the mother who had made her holiness came so near to the commoners in her entire life. Pope Francis's announcement that she is the personification of material love who had tirelessly made her voice heard before the powers of this world for their crimes of poverty which indeed kills the life itself. He also fondly remembered her for her firm stand against abortion which she termed as ‘murder by the mother' in her controversial Nobel Peace Prize speech in 1979.
As she hold the view that ‘unborn are the weakest' so her fervent opposition to abortion created ripples across the global community, especially among the liberals. The mandatory requirement of achieving ‘two miracles' for sainthood stated by the Vatican was coming to the mother all her way — one from an Indian woman who recovered from ovarian cancer and the other, a Brazilian, cured from brain tumour only by offering prayers to her. This finally has put her into the list of saints of Christianity besides her saintly service for sure. let us pray that her sainthood may bestow us with ceaseless energy, commitment and courage to fight the evils of poverty on this earth. Mother, we will continue your struggle and raise every drop of hope on the lives of millions of poor and underprivileged.